Fair Housing & Lending Project

Substandard segregated housing in minority communities amplifies the effect of economic, political, and educational differences, and leads to inequality of many kinds of opportunities, with far-reaching impact on quality of life. By contrast, fair, integrated housing leads directly to equality of environment, healthcare, and education, and strongly assists equality of employment opportunities through access to jobs. Therefore, the Fair Housing Project champions integration by educating people in minority communities about their rights under the fair housing and fair lending laws, investigating complaints of fair housing discrimination, and providing or securing pro bono (free) legal services to individuals and groups who wish to exercise their fair housing rights and secure equal housing opportunities. We accept cases involving discrimination in rental, sales, mortgage lending [hotlink1], homeowners' insurance and advertising [hotlink2]. Our work challenges discrimination in rental and private markets as well as in public and assisted housing.

Everyone has the right to live where they want to live, free from discrimination

Chicago remains one of the most racially segregated metropolitan areas in the United States, despite active efforts opposing it. Groups in addition to African-Americans also experience significant discrimination, including Latinos, families, and people with disabilities. The mission of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee’s Fair Housing Project is to eliminate housing discrimination based on race, national origin, familial status, physical and mental disability, sexual orientation, source of income, religion, gender, and other bases, to affirmatively further fair housing in the Chicago metropolitan area.

To achieve that mission, staff and volunteers with the Fair Housing Project:

educate tenants, homeowners, landlords, and others about their rights and duties under fair housing and fair lending laws,

advocate for progressive laws and public policies,

conduct intake, referral, and investigation of housing discrimination complaints, and

provide legal representation to individuals and groups in asserting and enforcing their fair housing rights and securing equal housing opportunities.

Working hand-in-hand with a talented and dedicated pool of pro bono attorneys from Chicago Lawyers’ Committee member law firms, the Fair Housing Project is reducing housing discrimination in the Chicago area.

The Chicago Lawyers' Committee is part of an area-wide network called CAFHA (Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance), which works to combat housing discrimination and promote integrated communities of opportunity through research, education, and advocacy.

What do Fair Housing Laws prohibit, and who do they protect?

All discrimination laws specify protected classes and prohibited acts. Under federal, Illinois, Cook County, and Chicago law, it is illegal to engage in the following prohibited acts against someone based on one of the following characteristics, which are called protected classes.

falsely deny that housing is available for inspection, sale, or rental

advertise or make any statement that indicates a limitation or preference in housing

engage in steering, which is limiting access to available housing based on discrimination

set different terms, conditions or privileges in the sale or rental of housing, or in occupying housing after acquiring it

provide different housing services or facilities

refuse to provide reasonable accommodations or to allow reasonable modifications to housing for people with disabilities

coerce, intimidate, threaten, or interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of their fair housing rights, and

for residential lenders, to refuse to lend or set different loan terms or conditions

Note that not all laws cover all protected classes or all prohibited acts. Consult with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, a civil rights government agency, or a private attorney to determine the laws’ application to particular situations. If you believe you have been discriminated against, want to volunteer, or want to request a fair housing speaker or training, contact us.

In a win for fair and affordable housing, Mariah DiGrino and Ken Schmetterer of the law fi...

In a win for fair and affordable housing, Mariah DiGrino and Ken Schmetterer of the law fi...

In a win for fair and affordable housing, Mariah DiGrino and Ken Schmetterer of the law firm DLA Piper achieved a significant victory on behalf of PADS-Lake County and the people they serve when a Lake County Circuit judge cleared the way to open a homeless assistance program.
In 2014, PADS Lake County, a nonprofit that provides housing and resources to people experiencing homelessness and mental health issues, agreed with the Lake County Housing Authority to use a vacant building in Lake Zurich to house 13 individu

In a complaint filed today with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, civil rights la...

In a complaint filed today with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, civil rights la...

In a complaint filed today with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, civil rights lawyers allege that a building management company in Uptown has discriminated against dozens of tenants who are immigrant senior citizens and participants in the federally-subsidized Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program administered by the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA).

The City of Chicago has taken an important step addressing racial and ethnic segregation a...

The City of Chicago has taken an important step addressing racial and ethnic segregation a...

The City of Chicago has taken an important step addressing racial and ethnic segregation and other housing discrimination in releasing its Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, including recommended actions. The federal Fair Housing Act requires that government recipients of federal housing and urban development funds do more than not discriminate; they must affirmatively further fair housing. This means they must analyze their areas and develop and implement plans to address housing discrimination. We are pleased that the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee advocacy efforts has resulted in the City producing this comprehensive analysis and plan. The report is here:http://www.cityofchicago

In celebration of Fair Housing Month in April, our Fair Housing Project is excited to anno...

In celebration of Fair Housing Month in April, our Fair Housing Project is excited to anno...

In celebration of Fair Housing Month in April, our Fair Housing Project is excited to announce our first ever Story Slam Competition!
Partnering with Albany Park Community Center, we're hosting a story slam event centered on "What Does Home Mean to You?" The event will feature food and games, as well as a story slam competition. It will be a fun event for the whole family!
Check out the event website and spread the word!
fhstoryslam.squarespace.com

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee & Open Communities Negotiate Settlement in Housing Discrimination Lawsuit against Rentology
The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Inc. (CLCCRUL) and Open Communities announced a settlement agreement that resolves a two year housing discrimination investigation of Domus Group LLC and their agent, Rentology.
In August 2013 and January 2014, CLCCRUL and Open Communities conducted reasonable accommodation fair housing tests at various Chicago area locations of the rental property management company Rentology. The tests revealed different terms and conditions, and unwillingness to accommodate requests for service animals or emotional support ani

Chicago, IL (Oct. 13, 2015) – A recent investigation conducted by several Chicago fair housing organizations revealed that despite passage of Cook County’s Source of Income amendment two years ago, housing providers are still illegally refusing to rent to tenants and treating them differently because of their Housing Choice Vouchers.
The Fair Housing Project of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (CLCCRUL), in association with partners HOPE Fair Housing Center, Open Communities, and South Suburban Housing Center, conducted a fair housing investigation in suburban Cook County to study how housing providers are treating African-American and Caucasian voucher holders

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an important n...

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an important n...

Yesterday the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an important new fair housing regulation aimed at promoting diverse, inclusive communities and overcoming the negative effects of segregation. The regulation is designed to guide cities and counties in complying with their obligation to “affirmatively further fair housing,” a key provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. The regulation requires state and local governments and housing authorities to work to eliminate fair housing barriers for people of color, families with children and people with disabilities.
Although our nation made some progress, we remain a highly segregated society. Chicago is still extremely

June 25, 2015 – The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights enthusiastically applauds the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding the disparate impact theory under the federal Fair Housing Act in the case Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project. The decision reinforces that the Act makes illegal not only policies and practices intended to discriminate, but also policies and practices that are neutral on their faces but have discriminatory effects, or a disparate impact. As Justice Kennedy said in the majority opinion, “Much progress remains to be made in our Nation’s continuing struggle against racial isolation,” and “The Court acknowledges th

A letter from CLC's Director of Fair Housing Betsy Shuman-Moore to the Chicago Reader Edit...

A letter from CLC's Director of Fair Housing Betsy Shuman-Moore to the Chicago Reader Edit...

A letter from CLC's Director of Fair Housing Betsy Shuman-Moore to the Chicago Reader Editors in response to their story titled Still Separate, Unequal, and Ignored:
To the Chicago Reader Editors:
Thank you, Steve Bogira, Mick Dumke, and the Reader for continuing to spotlight and detail Chicago’s persistent, harmful neighborhood segregation and the need for the Mayor and others to address it, in your recent story “Still Separate, Unequal, and Ignored.” http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/still-separate-unequal-and-ignored/Content?oid=16347785
As you pointed out so well, hypersegregation in housing underlies so many of our city’s problems. Where you live largely determines quality o

The Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights appreciates the Chicago Tribune’s story regarding where tenants with Housing Choice Vouchers live. As the article states, these vouchers, formerly called Section 8, are federal subsidies for low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled, which enable participants to rent quality housing in the private market. They allow tenants with vouchers to live in neighborhoods and towns previously inaccessible to them, while the owners are paid fair rent. This has the great potential to break down Chicago’s shameful segregation based on race, ethnicity, disability, and economic status, and to affirmatively further fair housing. Read More